Wait and see

Some of us, among the E-group (Cebu Entertainment Group) members, wanted to implement a boycott against ABS-CBN. Some, just wanted to let it go, to not mind the treatment they accorded to us as we will also ignore them and their activities. Others wanted to condemn them, for the lack of PPR (Personalized Public Relations), specifically among those who belong to their Corporate Communications Department in Manila. We wanted to release a statement to express how badly we feel at the rate things are going. But in the end, we decided to send a letter to CorCom head Bong Osorio as a form of diplomacy and respect, and then we will determine our next action depending on his response. Thus, today, I’m printing the letter we sent to Osorio together with his response, so that you will have a better understanding of what’s going on. Here:

Mr. Bong Osorio

Vice President for Corporate Communications

ABS-CBN

Quezon City

Sir:

Greetings!

Less than a year ago, ABS-CBN, specifically the Corporate Communications Department, invited some members of the Entertainment Media Group of Cebu (E-Group – Cebu) to your office and studios for the purpose of fostering closer relationship and threshing out whatever differences and/or misunderstandings that may have arisen in the course of carrying out our respective duties and responsibilities. To recall, the two groups had a lengthy dialogue on the subject.

Unfortunately, though, between that time and this date, nothing has changed. Except for the daily press release blastings that our group had received from your end, the relationship which your group wished to establish with us had never materialized. In fact, the gap seemed to have widened even more as evidenced by recent Kapamilya events in Cebu where our group had not been informed about much less invited to.

We hope this is just a simple oversight and not a deliberate move from your end (for whatever reason) to make the Cebu entertainment press feel unimportant and irrelevant. This is in total contrast to the relationship which our group has developed with your competitor and even with your sister company, Star Cinema, through Ms. Josie S. Pereyra of JSP Ads & Promotions.

Our group has already decided on what our next move will be, but we chose to write to you first as a gesture of respect. We will expect your reaction within the week.

Thanking you in anticipation of a prompt action on this matter, we beg to remain,

Cebu Entertainment Group

The letter dated July 9, was eventually sent last Monday afternoon, July 16. Around eight or nine in the evening of the same date, Osorio messaged me, confirming he received our letter and promised to email me his response the next day, as he was yet to talk to his staff. Indeed, he made true his promise and I like it. Sharing to you his response:

Dear Ryan,

This acknowledges receipt of your letter dated July 9, 2012. My apology for the delayed reply. I just got back from a foreign trip and was able to read your email only last night.

I fully understand your and your group’s sentiment about the current working relationship between the Cebu entertainment press and the ABS-CBN Corporate Communications Division. I am currently in discussion with some of my people and the head of our regional network group on changes we can effect and activities we can implement to make the relationship better.

Please rest assured that there is no deliberate move from our end “to make the Cebu entertainment press feel unimportant and irrelevant.” There is no reason for us to do that. In fact, our utmost intention is to make your group our solid friend and partner in bringing our news to the attention of your readers.

I will write to you again soon to share with your group specific details on how things can be improved.

Thank you for communicating. My best regards.

Sincerely,

Bong

With that, I echoed to him our suggestions and explained to him what we really want as far as press conferences here are concerned. Hopefully, everything will be resolved very soon, long before disappointment and dismay becomes hatred and failure. We want to have harmonious relationships with all networks but we also do not want to force ourselves on those who don’t want our help.

Engineer’s song voted Smart

People’s Choice at PhilPop

An engineer’s song expressing his reservations approaching a long-lost sweetheart proved resonant to mobile subscribers, who voted it the Smart People’s Choice in the first Philippine Popular Music Festival.

James Leyte’s song “Brown ” – referring to the color of his ex-girlfriend’s hair – garnered the highest number of text votes among 14 entries during the two-week voting period for the Smart People’s Choice Award. Leyte received P200,000 and a trophy by renowned sculptor Ramon Orlina during awarding ceremonies held on July 14 at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Ryan Cayabyab, executive director of the PhilPop Music Foundation which organized the songwriting competition, said Brown’s distinctive rhythm helped it connect with voters.

“It is unique in that it has touches of reggae and rap. The use of a complex lyric rhythm is what makes it an exciting hybrid. This unique blend of rhythm with a very infectious melodic chorus-hook is what made it win,” he said.

The song got nearly 40 percent of the total votes sent via text from July 1 to 12.

“The active participation of our subscribers in the text voting component of PhilPop shows the high level of support for local songwriters and original Filipino music,” said Smart President and Chief Executive Officer Napoleon Nazareno, who presented Leyte with the Smart People’s Choice Award.

Meanwhile, Smart’s Wireless Consumer Division Head Emmanuel Lorenzana said: “Smart will continue its efforts in promoting original Filipino compositions. Bringing Filipino music closer to our subscribers is one of the ways by which we encourage people to ‘live more.’”

Smart co-presented the PhilPop festival with other major companies like Maynilad Water, MERALCO, and PLDT. Smart’s chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan chairs the PhilPop Foundation, while Smart’s chief wireless advisor Orlando Vea is one of the executive directors.

The festival launched last February collected a record-breaking 3,000 song entries from Filipino music makers here and abroad. The entry list was trimmed down to 14 through a judging process supervised by Cayabyab. All 14 songs are featured in an Ivory Records CD which is available in music stores nationwide.